Mavericks Secure First Win After Sweeping Bradley

Saturday, September 16

Greeley, Colo.

12 p.m.

Omaha

1-9,0-0Summit League

Bradley

7-6,0-0MVC

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Omaha	25	25	25	3
Bradley	18	17	18	0

Photo by: Bonnie Ryan

Mavericks Secure First Win After Sweeping Bradley

Sep 16, 2023 | Volleyball

Box Score

GREELEY, Colo. - The Mavericks picked up their first win of the season on Saturday as they swept Bradley 3-0 to close out the Northern Colorado Classic and their non-conference slate.

With its first win, Omaha is now 1-9 heading into Summit League play. As for the Braves, they lose their fourth straight to fall to 7-6.

Set by Set: (25-18, 25-17, 25-18)

The Mavericks set the tone early, scoring seven unanswered points to take a 9-2 lead. McKenna Ruch continued to build on her dominance from the night before with a kill and two blocks during this run. Though the Braves improved down the stretch, Omaha's balanced attack and strong up front defense kept them in the driver's seat as six different Mavericks recorded a kill and five blocked a shot, led by Ruch and Shayla McCormick with four kills and four blocks apiece.
Bolstered by strong performances from Ruch, McCormick, and Amanda Hardt, the Mavericks took another early lead as they started off the second up 10-3. Midway through, however, Bradley managed to cut Omaha's lead to 14-13. Their momentum would prove to be short lived as Hardt jump started a 5-0 run to regrow the lead, followed by two kills and an ace from McCormick to get Omaha to set point and set up Ruch to win it with a spike up the middle.
The Braves' offensive mistakes started to pile up in the third as they committed four straight attack errors to immediately put the Mavericks out front. Brynlee Arnold started to heat up as well, picking up four quick kills to help give the team a 15-11 lead. Aided by a few more unforced errors by Bradley, Omaha finally secured its first win of the season on one last kill from Arnold.

Inside the Box Score

For the first time since opening day, McCormick recorded double-digit kills with a team-leading 12 today. She is now just seven kills away from reaching 700 in her career.
Olivia Curry had her third double-double of the season secured before the second set even ended as she ended the day with 15 assists and 11 digs.
Arnold set a couple of career bests today with nine kills and the best hitting percentage of any Maverick this year (minimum 10 attempts) at .643.

Up Next
With their non-conference schedule complete, the Mavericks set their sights on their first Summit League match of the season. Next week they return home to host Kansas City on Thursday at 1 p.m., followed by South Dakota on Saturday at 7 p.m.